Summary
The Senate is in session today and the House returns tomorrow for a few days of legislative business before recessing for the Memorial Day Holiday. The Senate is expected to take up the bipartisan immigration bill from earlier in the year for another vote this week. The bill is not expected to pass and is generally considered to be a political move to help incumbent Democrats in their reelections. This week is a busy one on a committee level as the House Agriculture Committee marks up the Farm Bill on Thursday (IHPP summary of House Majority bill), the House Armed Services Committee marks up the fiscal year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization bill, and the House Appropriations Committee starts to markup FY 2025 bills with the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Legislative Branch bills. Late last week House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) released a very aggressive markup schedule that plans to move all 12 spending bills through the Committee by mid-July. Chairman Cole also released the “interim” Subcommittee allocations. The allocations adhere to last year’s Fiscal Responsibility Act, without the adjustments (or “side deals”) that provided higher non-defense funding in both 2024 and 2025. As a result, House nondefense allocations are cut by 6%, with the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee receiving an 11% cut. House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) channeled her inner Taylor Swift with a one-page document outlining the “tortured top-line department” and insisting on a true 1% increase for both defense and non-defense spending.
Hearings and Markups:
Senate Judiciary Committee: on Tuesday the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to examine competition in the prescription drug market, focusing on ensuring affordable and accessible medications.
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee:
- On Tuesday the Senate HELP Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security will hold a hearing to examine feeding a healthier America, focusing on current efforts and potential opportunities for Food is Medicine. This hearing was rescheduled from earlier this spring.
- On Thursday the Senate HELP Committee will hold a markup to consider several pieces of legislation, including 3679, to reauthorize the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, S.3765, to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the Emergency Medical Services for Children program, S.4351, to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize certain poison control programs, and S.3775, to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, among others. The House Energy & Commerce Committee advanced most of these in March IHPP summary.
House Appropriations: On Wednesday the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing to examine nutritious foods in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
House Budget Committee: On Thursday the House Budget Committee will hold a hearing titled “Breaking Up Health Care Monopolies: Examining the Budgetary Effects of Health Care Consolidation.” Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director of Health Analysis Dr. Chapin White will be testifying.
Senate Appropriations Committee: The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS will hold a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2025 for the NIH.
Senate Finance Committee: On Thursday the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing to examine ways to support communities impacted by the fentanyl crisis, focusing on combating addiction through prevention and treatment.
House Agriculture Committee: On Thursday the House Agriculture Committee will hold a markup of the “Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024.”
Regulatory Update
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is currently reviewing the following rules:
Medicare
- Calendar Year (CY) Payment Updates: The CY 2025 revisions to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule, the CY 2025 Hospital Outpatient PPS Policy Changes and Payment Rates and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System Policy Changes and Payment Rates proposed rule, the CY 2025 Changes to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System and Quality Incentive Program proposed rule (June 2024), and the CY 2025 Home Health PPS Rate Update proposed rule (June 2024).
Medicaid
- Drug Rebate Program – The final rule would establishes requirements related to manufacturers’ misclassification of covered outpatient drug products under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP). In addition, it finalizes beneficiary protections, as well as MDRP program integrity and administration changes (June 2024).
Other Topics:
- Healthcare System Resiliency and Modernization – The proposed rule would revise and update national emergency preparedness requirements for Medicare- and Medicaid-participating providers and suppliers (was set for December 2023).
- Health IT – The proposed rule would advance interoperability through proposals for: standards adoption; public health IT certification; expanded uses of certified application programming interfaces (APIs), such as for electronic prior authorization, patient engagement, care management, and care coordination; and information sharing under the information blocking regulations (was set for November 2023).